Ingredients...
 
One bowl of *slightly warm* 'mush' (duck soup, goo, whatever you want to
call it)
 
One mama ferret, who's heartily sick of her young escaping her clutches ;o)
 
Five baby ferrets (just on or near three weeks of age), who look like wierd
blind things with big heads and bulging places where their eyes are and
stubby legs sticking out of fat bellies...
 
Put ingredients together and watch closely.  DO NOT MIX, the elements will
mix quite well on their own!
 
First, you will notice, the baby ferrets (kits) will start nosing around
their nest-box at the scent of the mush.  Within a short time, one will
have escaped mama (who has been rounding them back into the box one by one)
and find the area where this mush is.  Upon finding the mush, loud slurping
noises will ensue, followed by four other kits racing blindly to this
evidence of 'real food'.
 
At this point, one of the kits will find that the best way to get this
mush is to get into the bowl.  Preferably head first, but whatever comes
easiest.  They're pretty clumsy at this age, and not being able to see
through sealed eyelids means they don't care what they look like.  After
all, that's what mama ferrets are for!
 
Once one kit is in the middle, it seems to become a priority for ALL kits
to be in the 'thick of things' - and they do rather like being in the
middle of that mush!  They'll spread out over as large an area as possible
in the bowl to attempt to 'save' their meal.  The others simply slide over,
under, around or shove their way through to get the tasty confection.
 
Right now, all five kits are more mush than ferret, and the mama ferret
decides to intervene.
 
One by one, the kits are unceremoniously dragged out of their new play-pen
(no time for eating now, they're *mud wrestling*!) and licked to their
previous healthy and clean colour before being sternly told to 'shut up
and go to sleep' by their rather put out mama.
 
Once they're dumped and cleaned, all kits eventually return to their second
favourite past-time, sleep.  Needless to say, this only lasts long enough
to let the mama relax for two seconds before they start up again, but at
least she has those whole two seconds to herself in the meantime ;o)
 
Sam
[Posted in FML issue 2420]